Confronting Stereotypes of Other Jews: A Personal Perspective

Introductory Note:

This
letter mentions the
Hebrew term “halacha” –
a term which refers to a
law of the Torah. The
term “halacha” is
derived from the Hebrew
word “holech” – walking,
going. A literal
translation of “halacha”
is “the way to walk” – a
reference to a step on
the Divine path of
mitzvos. The halacha is
therefore the way we are
to walk on this earth
according to the Divine
Teaching.

Dear
Friends,

With
the help of Hashem, I
will begin to discuss in
upcoming letters how a
deeper understanding of
the various halachos
regarding converts can
help us to gain a deeper
understanding of the
purpose of both the
People of Zion and the
Land of Zion. During
this discussion, I will
need to refer to certain
conflicts among various
Jewish communities
regarding the role of
converts and the purpose
of Zion; however, my
work as a Jewish
community activist and
educator has made me
aware of the following
problem: Many of us may
have a distorted
stereotype of Jews in
other communities – a
stereotype which can
often interfere with a
productive dialogue
about the issues
confronting our diverse
communities. I will
therefore begin to share
with you my own personal
perspective of this
problem:

As a
boy, I lived in Rockaway
Beach, New York City,
and not far from my
neighborhood was a
popular amusement park
which had a “fun house”
with special mirrors
which presented to
people distorted images.
The stereotypes that we
often have about other
Jewish communities
remind me of those
mirrors. When we are in
the “fun house” of the
amusement park, we are
aware that the images in
those mirrors are
distorted, but sad to
say, we are often
unaware that the images
we have of other Jewish
communities – especially
those that seem very
different from our own –
are distorted. These
distorted images can
lead to prejudice and
even hatred of our
Jewish brothers and
sisters; thus, they
become one of the major
factors which prevent us
from experiencing the
following blessing:

“A Song of Ascents by
David: Behold,
how good and pleasant it
is when brethren dwell
together in unity.”
(Psalm 133:2)

My
parents, of blessed
memory, were progressive
social activists who did
not receive a Torah
education in their
youth; nevertheless,
they were proud that
they were Jews, and they
had a vague awareness
that their passion for
justice and
loving-kindness was
rooted in the spiritual
heritage of our people.
In the early letters of
this series, I described
how I began to develop
an interest in Judaism
during my youth – an
interest which led to a
commitment to the vision
and path of the Torah.
During this period, I
became aware that my
parents had some
distorted stereotypes of
Torah-observant Jews;
however, their negative
stereotypes began to
change as my parents got
to know my Torah
teachers and other
Torah-committed Jews who
became part of my life.
My parents fought
against racism and
anti-Semitism; thus,
they taught me at an
early age about the
danger of stereotypes
which lead to prejudice
and hatred. To their
credit, they had the
honesty to confront the
distorted stereotypes
that they had absorbed
from their secular
circles about
Torah-observant Jews.

During this period, I
also discovered that the
majority of my teachers
and new friends within
the Torah-observant
communities had a
distorted stereotype of
Jews like my parents.
This began to change as
they got to know my
parents. To their
credit, their commitment
to seeking truth gave
them the ability to
confront the distorted
stereotypes they had
absorbed from their
religious circles about
Jews like my parents.

As an
adult, I became more
aware of the problem of
distorted stereotypes,
especially after I
became the director of
the Martin Steinberg
Center of the American
Jewish Congress – a
center for Jewish
artists in the
performing, visual, and
literary arts. During
this period, I developed
close ties with Jews
from diverse Jewish
communities with diverse
beliefs. I discovered
that the majority of
people in each community
usually had a distorted
stereotype of the people
in some of the other
communities, especially
those communities which
seemed very different
than their own. This was
due to ignorance, little
or no social contact
with people from those
Jewish communities, and
occasional articles in
both the general and
Jewish media which
presented a distorted
stereotype of the
“other” Jewish
community.

I
still encounter these
distorted media
stereotypes which
present a negative image
of the “other”
community, and they are
reinforced by inaccurate
and unbalanced
reporting. Given the
secular nature of most
of the media, I often
encounter negative
stereotypes of
Torah-observant
communities that are
known in the modern
world as “Orthodox”;
moreover, a good
percentage of the
negative stereotypes
about Orthodox Jews are
about those known as
“Chareidi” or “fervently
Orthodox” Jews.

Another term which has
been used by
journalists to describe
Chareidi communities is
“ultra-Orthodox”;
however, a growing
number of journalists
have stopped using this
term, which many view as
offensive. This is
because the word “ultra”
means “extreme” and
“excessive”; thus, these
journalists admitted
that due to their own
ignorance of the outlook
and requirements of the
Torah path know as
halacha, they had
no right to make a value
judgment about whether
people within these
traditional Jewish
communities were
“excessive” in their
beliefs and observances.

As I
began to think more
deeply about the problem
of stereotypes, I
realized that the
contemporary name given
to various Jewish
communities can lead to
inaccurate impressions.
For example, there are
non-Jews who are not
familiar with Jewish
life, and when they hear
about a religious Jewish
movement known as
“Conservative,” they
think that this is a
movement of Jews who
vote for conservative
political candidates!
This particular movement
officially began in the
United States in the
late 19th
century when some Reform
Jews were troubled by
the increasing
abandonment of many
mitzvos of the Torah by
the Reform movement of
that period. They and
some other Jews
therefore started a new
movement which would
attempt to “conserve”
more of the tradition.

The
“term “Orthodox” is used
to describe a more
traditional Jewish
movement, but this term
is somewhat problematic.
This term was first used
by radical Reform Jews
in Germany during the 19th
century to refer to the
Torah-observant
communities that they
were breaking away from.
Many Torah-observant
Jews in Germany then
began to use this term
to describe themselves;
however, in my humble
opinion, this was a
mistake. This is because
the word “orthodox” is
used to describe those
who conform to
established behavior
and/or opinions;
however, with regard to
Torah-observant
communities, this term
does not give the full
picture, for within
these communities there
are creative forms of
Jewish renewal which are
in harmony with the
halachos of the Torah.

There
are some non-Orthodox
Jews with a very
“orthodox” approach to
their own beliefs and
views. They feel that
their beliefs and
attitudes are
“politically correct” –
conforming to the latest
popular trends within
modern society. They can
therefore be intolerant
of Torah-observant Jews
who differ with their
“politically correct”
views. Ironically, these
non-Orthodox Jews often
speak in the name of
“pluralism”; however
their “pluralism” does
not always have room for
Torah-observant Jews.

Through most of my life,
I have strived to build
bridges between Jews of
differing beliefs and
backgrounds with the
goal of helping us
rediscover the spiritual
and universal Torah
vision which has the
potential to unite us;
thus, I have challenged
the negative stereotypes
which can interfere with
the dialogue which can
lead us to this vision.
For example, when I
speak with Orthodox Jews
or when I write for
Orthodox publications,
e-mail lists, and
websites, I occasionally
challenge the negative
stereotypes that many in
this audience have about
non-Orthodox Jewish
communities. And when I
speak with non-Orthodox
Jews or when I write for
non-Orthodox Jewish
publications, e-mail
lists, and websites, I
occasionally challenge
the negative stereotypes
that many in this
audience have about
Orthodox Jewish
communities.

Although I have not
taken a survey of those
who subscribe to the
mailings of our Torah
study program, Hazon –
Our Universal Vision,
the correspondence that
I receive gives me the
impression that the
program attracts Jews
from diverse Jewish
communities and that a
majority of the
subscribers do not
consider themselves to
be Orthodox Jews;
nevertheless, some of
those who think of
themselves as
“non-Orthodox” have
indicated that they are
developing a greater
commitment to fulfilling
the mitzvos of the
Torah, and, at their own
pace, step-by-step, they
are becoming more
observant of the
halachos of the Torah
path. (A number of these
“step-by-step” seekers
have also joined
Orthodox communities.)

According to the
insights I gained from
my Torah teachers, these
“step-by-step” seekers
can be considered to be
Torah-committed, for the
term “Torah-committed”
refers to the Torah path
one has chosen, even if
one has only taken a few
initial steps on this
path.

In
future letters, we will
discuss some of the
secular-religious
disputes within the Land
of Israel which relate
to our current themes;
moreover, we will
discuss how
Torah-observant
communities, such as the
Chareidi and National
Religious communities,
relate to these
disputes. Our discussion
will reveal that there
are “disputes for the
sake of Heaven” between
the National Religious
and Chareidi
communities, as well as
internal “disputes for
the sake of Heaven”
within each of these two
major groups.

May
our own discussion of
these sensitive issues
be for the sake of
Heaven – free of
prejudice and filled
with desire to
understand the Torah,
our “tree of life”
(Proverbs 3:18). In this
way, we can merit the
fulfillment of the
following Divine
promise:

“I
will make them into one
nation in the Land upon
the mountains of Israel,
and one sovereign will
be a sovereign for them
all; they will no longer
be two nations, and they
will no longer be into
two kingdoms, ever
again.” (Ezekiel 37:22)